Did you know almost 50% of adults have #hypertension?

It’s one of the most common diagnoses I see in #primarycare & many patients have NO idea they have it because it can cause NO symptoms, but it ⬆️s your risk of heart attacks, strokes & kidney failure.

These readings are from a lovely patient that established w/ me in mid-January. She hadn’t seen a PCP in years, & she had no idea her BP was high until our first visit. A week later she texted me a screenshot of home readings from the monitor I recommended. I thought 😬.

Based on almost a decade of experience managing this, my instincts were telling me she was probably headed towards TWO meds to get this under control.

But thanks to my practice model, for the first time EVER, I had the luxury of TIME and very close follow-up. We discussed risks & benefits of medication but ALSO the role of

👉food
👉alcohol
👉caffeine
👉exercise
👉genetics
👉age
👉hormones
👉stress

I recommended starting a low dose of medication along w/ specific lifestyle changes. Still, I was mentally prepared to add another med within a few weeks. She proved me wrong 😮

She followed all my recs – got back into an exercise routine, cleaned up her diet, cut back on cocktails & walked away from several sources of stress.

Today, less than 4 weeks later, her BP is dramatically better and still trending down. She is on a half-dose of 1 BP medication & I feel confident that if she continues on this path, she could be off of it completely in the future. I am in awe.

This could have taken MONTHS in a traditional practice. I don’t take credit for her success – she did the hard work. But she’s shown me what is possible when you take the time to empower patients to make change 🙌